Global Sport Stories

Upon conclusion of our period of vanlife throughout Europe, the experience was so enriching and full of subconscious learnings, reflection was, and is, both inevitable and infinite. 

Therefore, I want to share one of my biggest takeaways from the two month spell – this being what a strong and accessible sporting culture there seems to be throughout the continent.

Now before I delve further into this, it is worth stating some pre-requisites. As an incredibly sport orientated and active individual, it comes natural to me to recognise everything sport related; from venues, to people and simply opportunities to be active. Almost weirdly so, if I’m honest; I’m forever wondering if it’s just me that gets excited when spotting a green meshed fencing – as this more often than not tends to universally indicate you’ve found a tennis court.

Anyhow, my point remains that due to this mindset, I am sure this played a part in dictating the environments we were in, and hence what we noticed.

For example, throughout the main portion of our trip, we always looked for and stayed within touching distance of mountains. Be it the Pyrenees, Dolomites or Alps, they all constitute nature’s playground. The possibilities are endless. 

You can hike, you can trail run, you can get your bike involved if you like – both on the road or on the mountain side. If you’re looking for some adrenaline, get involved with an inundating plethora of via ferratas scattered across the region (if you haven’t already, learn more about them in Van Life Tales Volume 4: Via Ferrata for Beginners).

And what was overwhelmingly apparent was how easy it was made for you. Sure there’s all the logistics of being in Europe, but once you’re there, the clearly labelled footpaths and bike trails really make the place feel as though it is catering for your needs. 

I know what you’re thinking though: “Of course the Alps are set up for hiking,” or something similar along those lines, that’s why I need also to talk about the seaport city, in the Bay of Biscay, La Rochelle.

As it happens, La Rochelle wasn’t on our list of destinations. But such are the unpredictabilities of van life (a propshaft hanging off the underside of your Transit), that we found ourselves with three days to kill there. This potentially daunting prospect, due to feeling somewhat stranded, was made almost a pleasure by exploring all the area had to offer. 

We ran to the nearby beach – where we found a couple of surfers! We cycled into a marvellous, albeit functional town – where we spent the afternoon in a funky bouldering gym. We made use of free to use tennis courts – in the shadow of a ‘Basque Pelota‘ wall. There was also a free to use artificial football/rugby pitch and even a baseball stadium for the local team “Les Boucaniers.” 

Despite perhaps not being much to look at, the area we had found ourselves stranded turned out to be a peculiar type of sporting paradise. The opportunities available for locals to be active were wonderfully plentiful, and seemed to me as a sort of proof that Europe’s sporting culture runs deeper than just that of the mountains.

La Rochelle was not the only example of this.

One particular Saturday morning, on our way North through France to round off our trip, the town of Annecy was alive with athletes. Swarms of cyclists were making the most of the lowly Alpine fringes, with roadside tennis courts packed to full capacity. It all felt rather quite inspiring. 

This seemed to be a theme throughout our trip. Every corner had to be taken with extreme caution, as you could guarantee arriving right under the saddle of an apparent Tour de France worshipper. This was made increasingly difficult by consistently spotting opportunities to try and become the next Roger Federer. 

In the end, I’m aware I may have been looking at things through rose tinted goggles, but the people of Europe seemed a healthier, happier bunch; which goes without saying I believe there is no coincidence between their active lifestyle and content demeanour. I’m also aware mainland Europe differs drastically to that of the UK in many ways, namely the landscape and public demographic. However, this trip was certainly an eye opener into how perhaps it would be no bad thing to borrow some ideas from the continent, in the hope of creating a healthier and happier Britain.